Red Dusk, A Warriors Cats Fanfiction
by kraftiekatt
Summary: Duskfur was found abandoned in the forest. She has always been treated as an outcast, and all she wants is to be considered loyal, and be seen as who she really is, and not the monster all the other cats see her as. The only problem is… Duskfur is a fox.
1. Prologue

_Sweetblossom padded softly_ through the forest. She opened her jaws and breathed the forest in deeply. Being cooped up in the nursery was starting to make her nerves raw, what with Ivystream's kits wailing and chattering all the time, and Iceflower's kits on the way. Soon, Sweetblossom's own kits would soon be there to crowd the nursery even more.

Earlier that day, Sweetblossom had decided that she would go out to get some exercise in the forest. Rosestar had insisted on sending a warrior with her, but she had left him asleep by the Tallpine. _Raggedstone! What a lazy tom,_ she thought to herself. The new warrior was always sleeping.

Sweetblossom stopped as she felt movement in her belly. Looking down, she chuckled to herself. Long-ear had tried to keep her in camp, insisting that their kits could arrive at any moment at all. _Won't he ever learn that a mother knows when her kits will come?_ She padded on.

A little while later, her mind occupied with mothering thoughts, she stopped: She thought she heard a kit wailing. Straining her ears in the direction of the sound, and opening her mouth to catch any new scent, she listened. And breathed.

There it was again! It sounded too tiny to even be able to walk! Gripped with a sense of panic, Sweetblossom hurried towards the sound, waddling as fast as her heavy belly would allow. Bursting into a small clearing, she whipped her head around, looking for the tiny kit. _Why wasn't it there? It had to be there!_

Suddenly, she realized. It was _inside _the hollow tree in the clearing. Gasping, she knew that she could not climb any tree when she was so heavy with kits. Waddling faster, she hurried towards the Tallpine, crying out for Raggedstone. He woke with a jolt, and, thinking that she was about to kit, hurried towards her.

"Leave me alone, I'm fine, Raggedstone!" she meowed. He cocked his gray head. "What's wrong, then? You look like you've seen a cat from the Dark Forest!" he asked.

"Raggedstone, there's a kit. Stuck in a tree! Oh, it sounds so small! Come on, hurry!" Sweetblossom spun around and began bustling towards where she had heard the kit. Raggedstone followed, also beginning to panic.

Finally, they reached the clearing. Raggedstone strained his ears. "Sweetblossom-" he began, but she interrupted. "Don't stand around talking! Go up and get it!"

"But Sweetblossom-" He began again, and she started to butt him towards the tree. Shaking a little bit, he began to climb. _Hurry, Raggedstone! _She bounced up and down on her paws. Raggedstone climbed into the hollow tree. With a muffled, quivering voice, he mewed, "Got it!"

Sweetblossom sighed with relief. But as Raggedstone shakily climbed back down, she saw that what she thought would be a tiny kitten was actually a large, red bundle about the size of an apprentice. When the gray tom landed on the ground, she hissed, "Raggedstone, I told you to get the kit!" He looked at her and lowered the fox to the ground. "Sweetblossom, open your ears! Listen! Smell it for yourself!"

Sweetblossom listened. The tiny mewling had suddenly turned into a hoarse, barking whimper. The scent of warm milk was replaced by fox stench. She padded softly over to the large, orange-red heap of fur. She looked at the gray tom again. "I think I've just been given a kit from Starclan," she murmured. She grasped the kit's scruff, and, despite Raggedstone's exclamations and oaths, she headed back to camp, with the little fox kit in her jaws.


	2. Snake

The ferocious fox crept quietly around the corner. Pricking her ears, she listened intently to an unsuspecting snake swerving back and forth. The fox could already taste the sweet reptile's flesh as she crept closer… and closer…

_Wheeeeeee!_

Duskkit landed abruptly on her mother's weaving tail. Sweetblossom jumped, and, facing her wayward fox-kit, heaved a sigh. "Duskkit! You scared me!" Duskkit tumbled onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Wheezing for breath, she waved her paws in the air. "You-" she wheezed. "-should've _seen_ yourself!" After another bout of laughter, she went on. "You flew up-" tears streaming down her long muzzle, she giggled. "-_Two foxlengths high_!"

Crystalkit and Twistedkit begain to mew loudly. Iceflower jerked up from her nap and quickly began to soothe her newborn kits. Bearkit and Brindlekit appeared from around the corner, also in a fit of laughter. "Duskkit, look what you've done! Now my tail's in a mess, and the new kits are upset!" Sweetblossom scolded. Barely managing to sober up, Duskkit looked up long enough to see Iceflower giving her a sharp glare. Duskkit shuddered. _If looks could kill…_ she thought to herself.

Iceflower turned her glare to Sweetblossom. "If you ask me, your kits are getting too big for the nursery, Sweetblossom. They must learn to play outside," Iceflower nearly spat. Sweetblossom looked at Duskkit. Then she sighed. "Iceflower, they're only two moons old. They still have a while to be apprenticed," she murmured.

They both looked over at Duskkit. The young fox-kit was already thrice the size of her siblings, and was beginning to grow long claws and sharp teeth. Sweetblossom was surprised that she hadn't guessed the truth about herself. Duskkit still had no idea that she wasn't a cat. She didn't understand how her size and strength would make her different from her friends and fellow clanmates.

Perhaps Iceflower was right. Maybe they did need to learn to play outside, if only for the smallest kits' sakes.

"Alright, children, I've had an idea. Hush now, listen up Duskkit," Sweetblossom mewed. Duskkit sat up. The three kits huddled closer to hear their mother's soft voice. Sweetblossom looked at them. "How would you all like to take an adventure _outside_ of the nursery? Just the four of us." She had a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as her kits squealed with excitement.

"Really, mama?"

"Do we get to go in the forest?"

"We get to see the clan!"

Sweetblossom lifted her chin and flicked her tail for silence. "Alright, warriors, here's our mission:" The three excited kits sat straight up, pretending they were "DarkClan Warriors" Their mother continued. "We must spy on ThunderClan camp without being seen. Find where their medicine den is, look for their Highledge, but _stay hidden_, and follow me at all times. No messing around or looking for crowfood; this is an important quest. Now, lets move out!"

They all answered in unison, "Yes, Sweetstar!" and put their right paws forward, as was their made-up show of respect.

Sweetblossom huddled them closer with her fluffy tail, and, moving towards the entrance, dropped into a mock stalking-crouch. Flicking her tail again to signal for silence, she stepped through the entrance.

The kits followed her "quietly" from behind. Exiting the nursery, "Sweetstar" stalked around it with her belly close to the ground. The three "warriors" tried to imitate her movement. They moved through the underbrush at the sides of the camp, twisting their heads this way and that, and Brindlekit's tail stuck straight in the air. Slowly, they moved towards the medicine cat den.

When they got close to the mouth of the stone den, Sweetblossom halted. "I must go inside to see if its safe: When I give the signal, follow me in." The three kits nodded, and Sweetblossom went inside. Immediately, she stood up and greeted Daisyfern, the medicine cat. "May I ask why you were stalking around the camp with your kits?" Daisyfern inquired. Sweetblossom laughed. "This is their first time out of the den. We're playing Darkclan. Currently, we're on a quest to learn about the enemy, Thunderclan's, camp. Do you mind if they have a look in the den?"

Amused, Daisyfern nodded. Then she went on sorting through her herb supply, as if nothing had happened. Sweetblossom tried to imitate an owl, which really sounded more like a sick dog, and the three kits came racing into the den, colliding right into their mother.

Sweetblossom went around the den, and Daisyfern ignored them. Finding the bitter-smelling yarrow, she grabbed it and showed it to the kits. Brindlekit's face puckered up, Bearkit gagged, and Duskkit tried to eat it. Sweetblossom smacked her long muzzle lightly. "This stuff will make you sick!" she hissed. Duskkit rubbed her nose poutily.

After looking at a few herbs, and the kits were getting bored, Sweetblossom brought them back outside. Just as she started heading to the elder's den, she spotted a large, stocky black and brown tom coming through the entrance to the camp. His muscles rippled as he turned to the fresh kill pile, and his bobcat-like ears pointed straight up to Starclan.

"Long-ear!" Sweetblossom called to him. His hard gaze softened as he turned to her, and sparkled curiously when he saw their three kits. Padding over to them, he mewed, "Decided to come out of the nursery today, did we?" Brindlekit and Bearkit ran over to him excitedly, while Duskkit held close to her mother. Long-ear had never liked the adopted fox kit, for obvious reasons, but Duskkit still had no idea why. She just knew he wanted her to stay out of the way.

Long-ear turned his head to look over at Duskkit. His eyes turned to stone again when he mewed gruffly, "About time, too. It's a wonder the younger kits were never trampled by you."

Sweetblossom flicked him with her tail. "Long-ear!" she hissed. Duskkit looked away, ashamed. With her tail in the dirt, and her head low, she trailed back to the nursery sadly. Not looking back, she entered through the thorny hole and flopped into Sweetblossom's nest. _Why don't you like me?_ She whispered silently. _I'm still your kit. Why do you think I'm so bad?_

Sweetblossom entered the nursery silently. Lying down next to Duskkit, she wordlessly began licking her between her long, black ears. They sat there for awhile, and then, lulled to sleep by the constant rasping of her loving mother's tongue, she drifted into sleep, where she met the old badger, whom she talked to, and who listened to her, in her dreams. _You will understand, someday, young cousin. But for now, rest in peace, _the badger would whisper to her.

_Sleep well, little one…_


	3. Tears Under the Willow

_One night, when Duskkit_ met with the old badger again, they walked to a starry pond and sat under a beautiful weeping willow together. Duskkit sniffled quietly, drawing a paw across her long snout to wipe her tears away. Midnight noticed this, and rumbled at her in a low, questioning voice. "Why do you hurt, little flame? What causes pain that makes you cry so?"

Duskkit looked up at her with glittering, sad eyes. "Frondshiver snapped at me today for accidently swiping my tail across her nose when I was playing, an' when I said I was super sorry, she hissed at me and told me to go play somewhere else. An' when Twistedkit and Crystalkit opened their eyes today Twistedkit wailed at me an' hid behind Iceflower. Mama shooed me outside, an' when I got outside, Long-ear was there." Duskkit punctuated her sentences with little sniffles, and at the mention of Long-ear, she almost burst into sobs.

"Long-ear's eyes went all wide when he heard Twistedkit's wailing, an' he rushed into the nursery, an' when he came back out, he glared at me really really hard. His eyes were all narrowed and his ears were half back, an'-" Duskkit's husky voice broke, and big tears started to roll down her nose as she sobbed into Midnight's huge shoulder. Her voice was raised an octave, muffled and slurred with tears, as she tried to finish her story. "He jus' turned his back, an' flicked his tail, and stormed off to the other side of camp. He hates me! He hates me, an' I don't even know why!"

Midnight gazed sorrowfully at the young kit. Wrapping her thick, starry tail around the trembling, crying kit, she just laid there silently and comfortingly. Waiting until Duskkit's tears abated, she hummed a deep, soothing hum. "Dear little warrior. Walk into their dreams, I would, and slap once across their faces. Say to them, 'What harm could little kitten do to camp? When has Duskkit been mean?' For you are sweet child, and fools they are if they cannot see that. Set aside heavy worries now, little one, and tell me good things of today. Surely, it help."

At this Duskkit's ears perked up. "Crystalkit's eyes are pink!" she burst out. "The color of mama's nose! An' her fur is whiter than white! It's so cool! An' I caught _two_ butterflies today. My claws have started to get sharper and bigger, an' I'm almost as tall as mama now, if ya' count my ears." Midnight chuckled at the kit's newfound excitement. Duskkit grinned a wide, toothy grin and went on happily. "I'm almost old enough to eat fresh kill now, mama told me so! An' Sugarpaw told me it's the tastiest thing in the world!"

Suddenly, like a hummingbird changing its course, Duskkit asked something completely unexpected. "Midnight, why don't I ever see you around other cats from Starclan? Do they all sleep at night, or something?"

Midnight, taken aback, hesitated. Her eyes grew distant, and her long muzzle hung open a little bit. Duskkit gazed at her expectantly. Then, shaking herself, the old badger looked down at her. "Dear flame, daylight is near. Time, it is, for you to go back to Sister and Brother." She stood up, and, as her starry black body began to fade, she touched noses with Duskkit. "Until next time, little redfur," her voice echoed softly.

"Wait! Midnight!" Duskkit cried as she realized she was waking up. "No, Midnight, wait!" Duskkit awoke to an abrupt shove from Bearkit. Suddenly, her mother's face jerked towards her own. "What did you say?" Sweetblossom inquired, alarming Duskkit with the intensity of her voice. Eyes wide, she stuttered, "Um, M-Midnight, mama. Sh-She's the old badger who walks in my dreams."

Sweetblossom stood abruptly and raced out of the tunnel to Daisyfern's den. _What on earth is the Stargazer doing in Duskkit's dreams?_ Although she thought she knew the answer, she did not like it. Midnight was preparing the little fox-kit for a hard life in the Clan- and for the shocking changes being a fox would bring.


	4. One Kind of Love

_"__Daisyfern!" Sweetblossom_ _call_ed as she barreled into the medicine cat's den. Daisyfern was applying a salve to an apprentice's sore paw, and jumped at the queen's unexpected entry. Alarmed, she flicked the rest of the sticky concoction onto the sandy floor and dismissed the apprentice. When he was out the door, Daisyfern narrowed her eyes at Sweetblossom in concern and beckoned her farther into the den with her tail.

"Great Starclan, Sweetblossom, what's the matter? Are one of your kit's sick?" Daisyfern exclaimed. Panting from the sudden rush, and anguished from the questions she was about to ask, Sweetblossom sat. "Daisyfern," she gasped. "The Stargazer- Midnight- walks in Duskkit's dreams! What could she possibly want from Duskkit? H-has Starclan spoken to you?" Daisyfern's eyes widened at the sudden news. She looked around the room, thinking hastily.

Then she looked back at Sweetblossom. Deadly calm rested in her gaze. "Sweetblossom," she said gently. "You know you don't need my help with this. You know what it means." The terrified queen looked at her in dismay. She laid down, her trembling legs unable to hold her up. "I-I can't. I just- oh, Daisyfern! What am I going to do? How am I going to tell Duskkit? Oh, Starclan help me!"

Daisyfern stared at her. "Take her out into the woods, towards the lake. When you reach the shore, tell her the truth. Bring her to the water, and let her look at her reflection," She advised. "When she sees herself, things will finally be made clear for her. She will accept it, but it is up to Midnight to tell her what to do after that."

Sweetblossom started to make excuses. After almost a minute of her unacceptance, Daisyfern muzzled her affectionately. "My dearest kit," she whispered. "You knew the time would come for her to find out. You must do it, no matter what you feel. Have you not learned that from me?"

Sweetblossom looked up at the senior medicine cat. Daisyfern's eyes brimmed with love, love that she could never show in front of any other cat, not even Rosestar. Love that only comes from one kind of cat. Love that was forged stronger through a choice made long ago.

Sweetblossom gazed into her eyes a moment longer, renewing her courage through them. Then she mewed softly.

"Yes, mother. I have learned that, and much, much more." She stood up, touched noses with Daisyfern briefly, and walked out of the den.


	5. Monster at the Lake

_Warning: This next chapter may get very sad __

_"__Where're we go_in', mama?" Duskkit squeaked as she trotted along the trail with her mother. Her eyes shone with the excitement of being out of camp. Sweetblossom padded at half the pace of her kit, nowhere near as excited as she was. The tabby queen tried to put some cheer in her voice as she mewed, "We're going all the way down to the lakeside."

Duskkit bounced up and down, her tail flailing all over the place. "The lakeside! The lakeside! The lakeside!" she squealed, then stopped and cocked her head. "What's a lakeside?" Sweetblossom _mrrow_ed with amusement. She licked Duskkit on her head and purred, "The lakeside is like an upside-down sky. When you look at it, another 'you' appears. It's so pretty, and it goes on for so far, all the way to Riverclan camp." This brought more peals of excitement from Duskkit.

The little kit looked around the forest with crystal-blue eyes the size of moons. Her ears twitched with every sound, and her giant bushy tail flicked back and forth. Most of all, her nose sniffled like a rabbit's, taking in every scent, more than any cat could ever smell. The rest of the walk passed as fast as lightning for Duskkit, while Sweetblossom's paws moved as if through mud. Every step was a mile dash, and she dreaded reaching the lake.

Finally, they both emerged from the bushes onto the shore. Duskkit squealed and tried to rush to the water, but her mother held her back. Her eyes were flooded with nervousness as she told Duskkit to wait a moment before going to look at the rippling mirror. "Duskkit, honey, sit down. Mama has a story to tell you."

While Duskkit sat, curious but also anxious to go see the lake, Sweetblossom took a deep breath. "Awhile ago, when I still was as round as a badger with kits, I went for a walk in the forest. I heard a kit, way back in the woods, wailing for its mama. I got scared and ran towards the tiny mews, and Raggedstone had to climb a tall, hollow tree to fetch the kit. I didn't know why at the time, and I didn't care, but he was really nervous about going up there. When he got back down, he had a fox kit in his jaws. At first, I was angry at him when he didn't have the kit, and then I realized that the fox _was_ the kit."

"Starclan gave me that little kit, and I have raised it as my own." Sweetblossom gazed at Duskkit, who had a confused look on her long face. "Duskkit, you… St-Starclan gave me _you_. That's why you feel so different. Duskkit, my sweet little kit… you're a fox."

Duskkit's eyes welled up and tears spilled over as she backed away. "That's not funny, mama. Don't be silly. I-I can't be a fox, I'm a cat…" Then she saw her mother's sorrowful face. "No… no, no NO!" She raced over to the lapping waves of the lake, sobbing, and looked down at her reflection. A long red snout appeared in the water, and bright blue eyes shone from a monstrous face. Its black-tipped ears flattened back right as Duskkit's did the same. She wailed as she stared in terror at the fox in the water. The wail turned into a fox's howl, and it barked as she raced off towards the bushes.

Sweetblossom looked up at the sky, a tear tracing down her cheek. _Starclan, what have you done?_ She asked silently before running to follow her little fox kit.

Later, Duskkit laid down in her nest, nose trained at the ground. When she'd finally come back to camp, she had found Long-ear guarding the entrance. _Just my luck,_ she'd thought bitterly. When Long-ear saw her miserable expression, he'd shown the tiniest of sneers. It was enough. Duskkit ran the rest of the way to the nursery, fighting back sobs. She ignored Daisyfern's concerned look as she barreled into camp. She ignored Briarkit and Bearkit's invitation to play. She ignored Crystalkit and Twistedkit's greeting as she plopped down into her nest.

She didn't want Sweetblossom's comforting words. She didn't want her sibling's playful attitudes. She only wanted Midnight. The old badger was the only one who came close to understanding what Duskkit was feeling. _A fox,_ she cried inside. _I'm not a cat. I'm a… a monster! I'm what queens warn their kits about when they've been naughty. I'm what kills and eats cats for breakfast. I'm worse than Tigerstar!_ An image came to her mind; a giant red monster feeding on the bloody corpse of her mother. Her stomach twisted into knots, and she retched on the floor beside the nest.

The next thing she knew, Duskkit was in the medicine cat's den. She chewed on some bitter chamomile and chervile leaves, Daisyfern fussing over her. Sweetblossom came in, and the nasty image that made Duskkit heave came back to her. She gagged again and plopped down into the nest, coughing and spitting. Sweetblossom raced over and began licking Duskkit's long face and red pelt. Daisyfern brought her some poppy seeds, which she licked up numbly. Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

Midnight found Duskkit sitting in a clearing beside a hollow tree. The little fox was gazing up at the starry sky, dried tears stuck to her fur. "Hi, Midnight," she barked gruffly, trying to sound more cheerful than she did. She sniffed once and looked over at the old badger. "Guess what?" she said. "Mama told me that I'm not a cat, and I actually believe her." She gave a great sigh through her nose.

Midnight sat and pulled Duskkit closer. "Sweet little firepelt. She never meant to hurt you. Feeling not all that sad, maybe? Perhaps it is good, that you know. Make more sense; can understand now, why you are feeling so different," she barked back in her broken cat voice. "But, whatever happens, do not be angry at dear Sweetblossom. She risked much, adopting you."

Duskkit tried to flex her claws and smell through her mouth, like cats do. Her claws didn't budge, and the only scent she got was through her powerful nose. "Midnight, how will I ever be a warrior if I'm not a cat? I'm too strong and bulky. Foxes can't be warriors," she sniffed. Then she cocked her head. "Can they?"

Midnight also cocked her head, thinking up a reply. "Maybe you can be strongest warrior. Maybe you will be best of all," she rumbled. "If you learn to control strength, you can be leader one day, I'm sure." Duskkit snorted. _Whatever,_ she thought. _I might as well go live with the dogs in Twolegplace._

They sat in silence, gazing at the moon. It was almost touching the horizon; they couldn't see much. Blue tinted the other side of the sky. Morning was near. Midnight touched noses with Duskkit and faded away, leaving her by herself for a few seconds before she woke up in the medicine cat's den.


End file.
